Amazon has pulled its nearly completed Sam Altman film, *Artificial*, from its release schedule and is now searching for a new distributor. Foreign media reports indicate this decision comes after Amazon's $50 billion investment in OpenAI, raising concerns about the boundaries between content and commerce.
The film has been removed from the release schedule.
According to Puck, the decision was made by Mike Hopkins, who oversees Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios. Amazon stated that while it respects director Luca Guadagnino and his creative team, it believes the film is better suited for distribution by another studio and is therefore working with the production company to find a new home for the film.
Currently, creative agency CAA has begun screening the film to potential distributors, attempting to facilitate a change of ownership of the project.
The film reportedly portrays Ultraman negatively.
"Artificial" is written by Simon Rich, stars Andrew Garfield as Altman, and Yura Borisov as OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever. The film is based on the controversy surrounding Altman's brief departure from his position as OpenAI CEO in 2023.
The report mentioned that the early scripts did not portray Ultraman favorably, depicting him as power-hungry and manipulative. Certain scenes even quoted sharp criticisms of Ultraman from computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton.
Another source familiar with the matter said that the final film had a darker tone than the initial proposal, and Hopkins decided to halt the original release plan after watching the edited version.
The timing coincides with OpenAI's investment.
This withdrawal comes after Amazon invested $50 billion in OpenAI. The report also mentions that Altman has maintained close ties with the Trump administration, while Amazon and its founder Jeff Bezos are also maintaining relationships with relevant political circles.
Amazon has not indicated that the film will be permanently shelved, but rather has made it clear that it hopes another company will take over distribution. If a new production company does take over, this film, which revolves around the management controversy surrounding OpenAI, may still be released.












